Led by Susan Phillips, PhD & Sharon Henthorn-Iwane
The Spiritual Exercises were developed by Ignatius of Loyola in the 16th century. They offer a structure to daily living which elicits and encourages experiences of an ongoing relationship with God. The Exercises include learning to pray with our imagination and how to enter into the stories of Jesus so they intersect with our own lives.
The commitment includes weekly sessions of group spiritual direction (Thursdays, 9:30-11:30am) and monthly individual spiritual direction (30 min sessions), as well as attendance at two optional retreats. Retreatants will also commit to daily prayer.
General Program Tuition: $1500; "Living Lightly" Reduced Tuition $1100
Location: online, Zoom
If you are interested in this program, please email Susan Phillips at susansandersphillips@gmail.com to arrange a preliminary interview.
About the Leaders
A spiritual director and professor of sociology and Christian spirituality, Susan Phillips earned a Ph.D. in sociology at U.C. Berkeley and served as the Executive Director of New College Berkeley from 1994 to 2022. Susan has taught for many years for the Graduate Theological Union (Berkeley), Fuller Theological Seminary, Regent College (Canada), and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Her books, like her teaching, explore the intersection of Christian spirituality and social science, and include the award-winning Crisis of Care: Affirming and Restoring Caring Practices in the Helping Professions, Candlelight: Illuminating the Art of Spiritual Direction, and The Cultivated Life: From Ceaseless Striving to Receiving Joy. Susan loves listening to people as they pray and seek the Holy in spiritual direction, retreats, and everyday life.
Sharon Henthorn-Iwane has over thirty years of experience leading others in prayer. In addition to general spiritual direction, she has completed a three-year course on becoming an Ignatian spiritual director through the Pierre Favre program. Sharon has been on staff as a spiritual director at Church Without Walls Berkeley since 2018. She is also an iconographer. You can see some examples of her work here.